Earlier this year I was happy to participate in Lynne Marie's Mentor Text Mondays with a blog post on Finding Lyrical Layers in Picture Books. I hope you'll find it useful in both reading and writing lyrical stories.  

​Finding Lyrical Layers in Picture Books
By Jennifer Raudenbush


Lyrical picture books are those in which the language evokes feelings. They are vivid, sensory experiences, which use figurative language (such as story- or character-specific similes and metaphors) to create emotional resonance.


Importantly, lyrical texts have musicality. They sound like songs through literary devices, such as alliteration, assonance, consonance, rhythm, and repetition. Their song-like qualities engage children’s ears and increase “read-aloudability,” and, in my opinion, create magic! The sounds of language immerse readers in the experience of the story and draw them into its wonder.


My favorite part of writing picture books is using poetic devices on the line level to make my words sing. I hope my words will help readers fall in love with the beauty of language. Below, I analyze the beginning pages of lyrical picture books to see how authors layer on lyricism.


My debut picture book, IN THE PALM OF MY HAND, illustrated by Isabella Conti, which was published by Running Press Kids (Hachette), contains tons of literary devices. It begins:


In the palm of my hand,
I hold an acorn, small and round.
Within it grows a forest.
And within that forest
towers an oak tree, tall and grand.
A caterpillar climbs its trunk.


I hope readers feel welcomed into the book with the quiet rhythm and soothing repetition of “within” and “forest.” The lines have a lyrical melody, created by the internal rhyme of “hand” and “grand,” “small” and “tall,” as well as assonance of the short /a/ sound. Consonance of /l/ throughout the stanzas also lends to its musical quality. The last line contains /k/ alliteration in “caterpillar climbs” and consonance in “trunk.” Finally, repetition of the structure NOUN + COMMA+ADJECTIVE+AND+ADJECTIVE adds to the passage’s songlike rhythm.

 
In SWASHBY AND THE SEA, written by Beth Ferry, illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2020), the initial spread features personification of the sea:
Captain Swashby loved the sea.
The sea and he had been friends for a long, long time.
She knew him in and out,
up and down,
and better than anyone.


These lines are rhythmic, mostly iambic meter, with internal rhyme and assonance that echo the back and forth pull of the sea: “bee” in “Swashby, “sea,” and “he.” There’s the assonance of “ah” in “Swashby” and “long,” and “ow” in “out” and “down.” I also like how Ferry uses the contrasting and playful “in and out” and “up and down” to show just how well the sea knows Captain Swashby, which is “better than anyone.” The structures and rhythms of these phrases match.

 
HELLO, STAR by Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic, illustrated by Vashti Harrison (Little Brown and Company, 2021) begins:
One winter night, a light shone in the dark sky,
brighter than any star, brighter than any planet.
Far, far away, a girl who was young and new and bright and strong
was curious about the light.


Let’s look at the devices that make it delicious to read aloud. The lines sing with the internal rhyming of “night,” “light,” and “bright.” Repetition of the phrase “brighter than” and the word “far” create sound echoes. I love the description of the girl using the one-syllable words “young,” “new,” “bright,” “strong” (words repeated later in the book) and connected by the repeating conjunction “and.” It creates a powerful cadence, which crescendos in her being “curious about the light,” a catalyst in the story.



Lyricism also works great in picture books that aren’t predominantly lyrical, such as on the opening page of NIGEL AND THE MOON by Antwan Eady, illustrated by Gracey Zhang (Katherine Tegan Books/HarperCollins, 2022):

At night, he tells the moon his dreams, and here, his dreams are safe.

Do you hear the rhythm?
It’s a solid pattern of unstressed-stressed syllables (iambic meter). Additionally, Eady repeats the phrase “his dreams,” creating an echoing, dreamy mood.

I hope reading and analyzing lyrical picture books, such as these, will help you write your own lyrical masterpieces!

I'm honored to have three poems included in the January 2023 release of the TWO TRUTHS AND A FIB POETRY ANTHOLOGY, edited and compiled by Bridget Magee! This is a clever and fascinating poetic introduction to 30 subjects with a twist. For each nonfiction subject, two true poems are included in any poetic form. The third poem about the subject, however, contains the twist--a "fib" or Fibonacci poem. 

My haiku poems are about owls, one of my favorite animals. 

I'm beyond excited to share my debut picture book's cover reveal. IN THE PALM OF MY HAND is written by me and illustrated beautifully by Isabella Conti.

The big announcement was announced today on Tara Lazar's blog, Writing for Kids While Raising Them. The link to the article is HERE. 

Many thanks to Running Press Kids (Hachette), my editor Allison Cohen, and my agent Natascha Morris!

Recently, I guest blogged on how to begin the process of creating the ever-important author newsletter on my local SCBWI branch, Eastern PA. I even offered a giveaway of Zoom time with me (now closed). The article was originally published HERE.

The Incredible Snowballing Author Newsletter
By Jennifer Raudenbush

I’ve heard a lot of advice on the importance of creating an author newsletter. I get it. If a social media service folds, all our contacts could be lost, but we control our own newsletter lists. 

An author or illustrator newsletter is a great way to connect with people. For instance, it can provide updates on our books, preorder information, free ways to support our books, upcoming author signings and events, extra material related to our books, giveaways, and book recommendations. Or, if your intended audience is other writers or illustrators, you might include writing or illustration tips. A newsletter is a fantastic tool for building a fan base.

Still, I didn’t feel the flame of urgency to begin a newsletter until I discovered my debut picture book’s preorder links. Things got real. Fast. I’m invested in my book doing well, but without a professional-looking newsletter to share the news and promote it, this would be more difficult.

I’d like to share my story and tips on how to get your author newsletter off the ground, so unlike me, you won’t suffer through a brutal two-week blizzard of activity.

First up, I had to choose an email marketing service that integrates with my website builder, Weebly. I Google-researched the top services and compared the pros and cons. Some services include a website, others charge by number of subscribers. I’d be starting a bit small. (Maybe I could convince my mom, sister, and husband to subscribe?)

I settled on Mailchimp, a reliable, popular company, though not, I’d soon learn, the easiest to navigate. I explored the site, clicked on some help articles, and Googled what I couldn’t figure out. Even with some pre-made templates, I spent countless hours creating my sign-up form, landing page, and first newsletter. 

Although I signed up for Mailchimp’s free service, I quickly upgraded to the lowest paid plan because it offered “journeys,” automated marketing paths for your contacts, which can start in multiple points and have unique branches. For example, anyone who subscribes to my newsletter either through my website’s pop-up link or directly on the subscription landing page link I supply, begins a journey of receiving a brief “You’re signed up, thank you, and welcome” type note. I set it up so three days later, Mailchimp automatically sends the subscriber my first email newsletter. I love preparing it and forgetting about it.

Sending out that first newsletter was not linear. It snowballed into needing graphics to make my forms and newsletter presentable. For this, I had to learn Canva, a graphic design tool, which took another forever to learn how to use, mainly through trial and error. Like Mailchimp, Canva’s basic version is free, but if you want any of their cool features (which you will), you’ll have to pay a subscription. It doesn’t hurt to have a graphic artist sister who, like mine, could create a logo. Unnecessary, but a nice touch.

As the snowball picked up momentum, I had to brainstorm both my intended audience and actual NEWS to put in my first newsletter! Coming up with content took thought. And chocolate. Way too much chocolate. 

In the first newsletter I was setting up, I mentioned booking spring school visits. That meant I needed to create school visit information on my website. AVALANCHE! Thankfully, I’d already taken a few school visit webinars, but it still took several days to figure out what author sessions to offer and how much to charge for them. Unfortunately, adding to my website became a flurry of last-minute fine-tuning. When I encountered issues with my newsletter subscription’s pop-up form, I spent so much time chatting with tech support from my webhost, iPage, I think I made a new friend.

I’d finally crested the snowcapped mountain and had my newsletter “journey” ready to send. The trek came to another halt when I learned it’s not possible to use a newsletter provider to ask email contacts if they’d like to subscribe. I thought I could send a professional-looking request to subscribe, but there’s no way to do it without importing your contacts’ email addresses. Importing their addresses is already “subscribing them” (without their consent to receive mailings), which is illegal. I regrouped by connecting with family and friends through regular email. I let them know about my newsletter and that it would be sent out quarterly (a frequency I could handle), and provided the direct Mailchimp link to subscribe.

Next, I tried to announce it on Facebook using a Canva graphic containing an embedded Canva Mailchimp link. Apparently, these don’t work unless they’re posted on a business page. I had no extra bandwidth for figuring out if I should start a Facebook Author (business) page, so I tabled that decision for another time. Instead, I uploaded my Canva photo and added the Mailchimp link in the comments. Success!  

Finally, I hosted a Twitter giveaway to let other writers know about my new newsletter. I gave away a free picture book critique or query letter critique of any kidlit category for subscribing to my newsletter, tagging three writer friends, and retweeting. A surprising number of people didn’t follow all three steps, but engagement was fair-to-good, so I considered it time well spent.  

Here are five tips to make your newsletter journey less like a blizzard and more like a breeze!

Author Newsletter Tips

1. Learn Canva or another graphic design program little by little and use it in your social media posts. It’ll be one less thing to worry about when newsletter time comes.
2. If you don’t already have a website, get crack-a-lacking! If you have one, keep it maintained or add the extra features you’ve been thinking about now.
3. As soon as you get a book deal, grab an ice pick and begin chipping away at your author newsletter to-do list. (In the meantime, build relationships on social media.) 
4. Also, when you get that book deal, think about school visits. Take a webinar or class if you’re not in the education field. Brainstorm what kinds of programs you might offer. 
5. Consider if a Facebook (business) Author Page is right for you. This in-depth decision could be its own blog post! Check out these posts for more information: https://www.janefriedman.com/facebook-profile-use/ and https://www.standoutbooks.com/facebook-authors-pages-vs-profiles/

​Like any enormous project, your author newsletter will be less painful if you tackle it slowly—one snowflake at a time. 

​

I'm thrilled to have been accepted as a mentee at this year's conference put on by The Rutgers University Council on Children's Literature. 

I've attended once before, for a picture book manuscript. This time, I was accepted for the beginning of a middle grade novel. It's a highly competitive conference, so I'm extra-excited to get in with a new genre, one I've been working for years to learn and improve.

The conference takes place October 22, 2022, in West Windsor, NJ. You can learn more about the annual conference here: https://www.ruccl.org/conference/about-one-on-one-plus.html​.

I can't wait to hobnob with editors, writers, and industry professionals!

Lydia Lukidis and Kaitlyn Leann Sanchez are running this annual writing contest. The rules can be found here:  https://lydialukidis.wordpress.com/fall-writing-frenzy-contest-2020/. Using a photo prompt, contestants write any kind of story, poem, or mood piece up to 200 words. My entry follows.

Jennifer Raudenbush
Twitter:  @jenraudenbush
Middle Grade opening
Image #1
198 words
PB (rhyming or non-rhyming) or MG critique
 
                                                                                                  The Book
 
            Everly tapped sock-covered toes on her back porch steps, leaves of garnet and gold twirling above her, and breathed in the scent of apples. She wrapped chilly fingers around her mug of hot cocoa, sipped, and sighed contentedly at the perfect reading weather.
            She opened the library book.
            Her belly still warm with chocolate, a sudden chill slunk up her spine. Just the crisp autumn air, she thought, with a shiver. She gathered her wool blanket, tucked it around her shoulders. And peeked at the book.
            It was fine. Everything would be fine.
            The wind swirled, fluttering the book’s pages thwop-thwop-thwop.
            Another gust swept flying debris into her hair. She jerked up, swatting at her head.
            Phew! Only a crusty leaf.
            Everly smiled at her foolishness. Took a deep breath.
            Again, the wind whipped, flipping the pages in a violent cascade. Her toes curled.
            Something was wrong.
            She peered across the yard. Her stomach, heavy as a pumpkin, dropped.
            A churning, twisting cone of destruction, gray as a nightmare, loomed above a bile-green sky. The tornado whisked toward her.
            Everly shuddered.
            Even as she slammed shut The Wizard of Oz, she knew it was too late.
            Not again!